Some Kind of Power!

JUNE 21

MATTHEW 6:13_and the power…

God is the power!

Power is authority!

The weak submit to the strong! 

God has great power in His voice. Genesis chapter 1 states “and God said” ten times. Each time involved creation. With the exception of humans, all creation came forth from the power of God’s voice. 

Psalm 29 (KJV) gives the best description of the power in God’s voice, 3The voice of the LORD is upon the waters…  4The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.  5The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars 7The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. 8The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness…  9The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests…”

That’s some kind of power!

God spoke His control over creation: giving the sun power to control day, and the moon power to control night and the ebb and flow of the ocean’s tide. If you are not impressed by God’s power in creation, just try to rope a tornado, or hurricane, or tsunami. Try to stop an earthquake.

This is the God of the Bible, of Creation, and of Power!         

PRAYER

Powerful God, I praise Your incredible power.  I know You can speak Your power into my life. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ can speak power—I want His power in my life!

Omnipotent Rule

JUNE 20

MATTHEW 6:13_For thine is the kingdom…

Psalm 24:1-2 (KJV), “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.” The world belongs to God and everything in it!

All that lives belongs to God. Acts 17:28 (KJV), “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

Deuteronomy 10:14, “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.

I Corinthians 10:26 (KJV), “For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” 

And, I particularly love it in I Samuel 2:8 (KJV), “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.” 

Did you get a message from all that? There simply is no getting away from God’s ownership. He is God. He has no beginning, nor will He have an end. When Jesus prays, for thine is, it is a way of recognizing God’s omnipotent rule.

This life will not last forever. God has perfection in store for all who choose it.

Please choose it!             

PRAYER

Omnipotent God, I stand in awe of Your greatness and majesty. I worship You as the living God who set the earth on its pillars. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

 Christ created everything that is—He created it for me!

Good-Versus-Evil

JUNE 19

MATTHEW 6:13_but deliver us from evil…

Because the world is full of evil does not mean good does not exist. Nor does it mean good does not prevail. Good prevails more than evil—it is just harder to see. Ultimately, it will prevail once and for all. In the meantime, you live with evil.

Every day is a good-versus-evil battle. The times when evil wins are difficult. Just to see some of the world’s evil on the News can be disturbing. It causes an oppressive spirit to hang heavy in your soul. You ask God how such things can happen. You wonder how humans reach such a level of degradation.

When there is evil in your personal life—you need hope.  

When you pray not to be led into temptation add, as Jesus did, to be delivered from evil. The devil intends evil daily. That’s his intention—it does not mean he wins. God intends mercy daily. God holds all the cards. One card God holds which the devil can never get his hands on is found in Romans 8:28 (KJV), “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Get to know this verse and praise God for it. This is why good prevails more than evil. God can take the devil’s evil and cause good for His people. The times when evil wins a battle are not the end of the war. Your hope is in this verse.

Somewhere in the long run God’s compassion and power will use pain to make you a better person!              

PRAYER

God of Hope, Please deliver me from evil. I know evil is in the world, but I know You are greater than the world. I praise Your power that helps me! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ can make good from the devil’s evil – He does it for me!

Slippery Slopes

JUNE 18

MATTHEW 6:13_into temptation…

Jesus says pray not to fall into temptation. What is temptation? A place where weaknesses have the upper hand—a slippery slope. A place where you are the controlled—not the controller. 

Everyone is vulnerable. It is easy to think you’re not. Why?  If you are a church-going, Bible-believing, Jesus-following person, you can’t be vulnerable, right?  Wrong! It is true all of those things give you the upper hand. The more your spirit grows, the stronger your resistance to temptation develops. But don’t think you can’t fall like everyone else.

If you get a bit cocky, let go of Jesus’ hand, and think you got this—prepare to go down. Jesus teaches to pray that you are not led into temptation. Praying keeps you focused on: the power in you is from Him!

Jesus knows your weaknesses and the devil’s strength. Be wise and follow His model way to pray: not to be led into temptation. Pray for the discernment to be alert to your weaknesses. Call out to the power of the Father to lead you away from the slippery slopes. Pray for help from temptations which empower your specific weaknesses.      

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, Please help me become aware of my weaknesses and know the temptations which empower them. Direct my steps not to go there. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ knows my weaknesses—He will help me!

Traps Set

  JUNE 17

MATTHEW 6:13_And lead us not…

The word lead in this verse is translated to bring in or into. Part of your prayer life should include to ask for direction, or guidance.

Psalm 5:8, “Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.”

That’s one to pray! It not only asks to be led, but to be led by righteousness. Tell God specifically why you need Him to lead you—because there are enemies out there (the devil and his demons). 

Another Psalm to pray is Psalm 143:10 (KJV), “Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.” This doesn’t need explaining. It’s all there (this verse showed up in the prayer on January 17).

Both of these Psalms express places you want to be. Places that cause you to feel closer to the Father and the Savior. Places of safety.

In Jesus’ model prayer He prays the reverse—lead us not. There are places out there that are not safe. The devil knows how to set traps. He wants to lead you to places you should not be.

These places are away from the Father and the Savior. The devil wants to lead you to places under his control.

Pray!

PRAYER

Righteous God, Lead me in Your righteousness. Make Your way straight before me. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ knows where to lead me—I will follow!